


Charmed

by Frecktacular



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:27:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23457016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frecktacular/pseuds/Frecktacular
Summary: Anna Hart has made it to her sixth year at Hogwarts, and life should be coming together for her, but a bet between two friends accidentally pulls her into the lives of five Gryffindors, and she's anything but thrilled to have to deal with the likes of Sirius Black. And of course, Sirius is just too stubborn to back down from a bet, right?
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

Anna Hart picked at her blueberry pastry from where she sat at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall, glancing every once in a while at the doors. She had gotten up early to write the last few inches of her potions essay that was due this morning, and apparently, she was a little too early to breakfast, or her friends were sleeping in that morning. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Anna to find two flashes of blue quickly approaching her table, and soon enough she was being pushed over to make room for the stack of books in Willow’s arms as her other friend, Moria sat across from them. 

“Last minute studying?” Anna asked, quirking an eyebrow up at Willow. 

Willow Browne was one of the most unique people Anna had ever met, and one of the most beautiful too. She had bright green eyes, and sandy blond hair that spiraled down her back in almost perfect waves. Her favorite hobby was reading, she was always found with a book in her hand, (or in this case five), and as a muggleborn, she always had fascinating stories about muggles, and their strange inventions. 

Across the table, Moria let out a sharp laugh, “More like some light reading before class starts,” She teased. 

Moria Norwood was nearly the complete opposite of Willow. Still beautiful in her own way, Moria had short and choppy black hair, having cut it all off last term after their OWLs, with Anna’s reluctant help. She had matching dark eyes, and although she liked to keep herself educated as much as Willow did, Moria was more often found on the quidditch pitch than in the library. 

“Ah, right, I almost forgot you always try to fit in five books before lessons,” Anna laughed too, reaching down to try and see what Willow was lugging around with her. 

Willow rolled her eyes at the two of them as she grabbed herself a glass of pumpkin juice, “I’m returning them,” She answered, dryly. 

“We’re just teasing you,” Anna reassured, patting Willow on the shoulder before plopping the rest of her pastry in her mouth, “Thought you’d be used to it by now,” She grinned. 

Willow let out a huff, shoveling some food onto her plate, “I forgot how annoying the two of you can be,” She answered calmly, turning up her nose at her friends.

Moria snorted, “Sure you did. I’m surprised you didn’t ask if you could switch dorms this year,” She continued to tease. 

Before the two girls could continue to tease their friend, a loud  _ crack _ caught their attention. Pulling her gaze away from Willow, Anna found herself looking at the Gryffindor table across from her, where she was unphased to see four boys in particular causing quite a commotion. 

It wasn’t surprising to see that it was the same four Gryffindors at the center of it all, and Anna let out a sigh. She remembered back in her first year, watching James Potter get sorted into Gryffindor right after all of his companions, solidifying the foursome that terrorized Hogwarts for the last six years. Back then, in her first year, her and Moria bonded over thinking that Remus Lupin was  _ cute _ , of all people! 

Well, to her, Lupin didn’t seem as bad as his counterparts, he tended to stick to the sidelines, and let Potter and Black do the real dirty work. She couldn’t help but to stare at Sirius Black as his face broke out in a large grin, throwing his head back as he let out a loud bark of laughter, joining in with his friends. 

To her, he was the worst of the bunch. Pettigrew wasn’t too bad, other than the fact that he followed the other three around like a lost puppy, and Lupin seemed to disagree with some of the more outlandish schemes that they came up with, so he wasn’t as horrid, and then there was Potter, who pulled so many pranks she lost count, but more recently he spent more time trying to get Lily Evan’s attention than pull pranks, which she wasn’t complaining about. 

But Sirius Black was different from all of them. 

He and James seemed to terrorize the school the most with their horrible ideas, and while James was a prefect this year and actually had to be a little bit more conscious of his responsibilities, Black didn’t hold the title, and seemed to be even wilder now that he had to make up for all of James’ lost pranks. On top of it all, Sirius Black seemed to have a charm to him that the professors couldn’t even get over, even if he did get caught pulling something, a flash of his teeth and some quick words normally got him out of most punishments, unless he was caught by Filch. No one could charm that man. 

His charm didn’t end with the professors though. Fifth year, he must’ve learned that he was rather easy on the eyes, and seemed to make it his personal mission to have a new girl on his arm each week! It was disgusting. 

She just tried not to think about him for too long, and she was just glad he wasn’t a Ravenclaw, it would be unbearable to have to deal with him more than in the Great Hall and classes. 

Letting out a sharp breath, Anna forced herself to pull her gaze away from the four laughing boys and bring her attention back to her friends. 

“They don’t ever stop, do they?” Willow groaned, pushing her now empty plate to the side. 

Moria was grinning as she turned away from the Gryffindor table, “Sometimes they’re good for a laugh, you gotta admit, and Murkin looked furious,” She shrugged, going back to her potatoes. 

Willow was as unamused as Anna felt, “It’s one thing if they mess around with their friends at meals, but last week Potter set off a string of fireworks in the library! He nearly burnt my notes!” She groaned, looking put out. 

“Those fireworks won’t actually set anything on  _ fire _ , you know?” Moria countered, stuffing some more food in her mouth. 

Anna pushed her plate away, getting to her feet, and  _ not _ wanting to talk about dumb Gryffindor boys any longer, “Come on, we’re going to be late to charms,” She said, throwing her bag over her shoulder, her two friends trailing slightly behind her, the both of them quietly arguing about the stack of books Willow was struggling to carry as they left.

* * *

“Oy, Prongs, bet I can get this exploding bonbon into Murik’s pumpkin juice?” 

Sirius quickly unwrapped one of the bonbons, closing one eye as he aimed at the small cup across the table. 

“Padfoot, if you can make that, I’ll write your potions essay for you,” James answered, clearly unimpressed. 

Remus propped his elbow up on the table, setting his face into his hand, “That’s due today,” He informed, an almost smug grin on his face. 

“Shove it, Moony,” Sirius shot back, “If I make this then it’s Prong’s fault my essay didn’t get done in time,” He said, finally tossing the bonbon directly towards Murkin’s cup. 

Surprisingly, the candy landed directly in the cup, but unluckily for Charlie Murkin, as soon as the bonbon hit the liquid, it stayed true to its name and exploded, sending pumpkin juice all over the poor boy.

Immediately, ducked his head to hide his grin, but the other three Marauders didn’t bother to hide their laughter in the slightest, none of them having to feel guilty about the exploding bonbon as they broke out into bright grins and infectious laughter. Sirius couldn’t contain himself for too long, and as soon as Murkin shot the four of them a glare, marching out of the Great Hall, he was throwing his head back and laughing along with his friends. 

“Worth having to write my essay, Prongs?” He grinned, elbowing his friend in the side. 

James let out a groan, throwing his head into his hands, apparently having forgotten their bet before an idea seemed to come to mind, “Let’s make another bet,” He propositioned, quickly. 

Sirius, never one to turn down a bet, quickly quirked an eyebrow up in James’ direction, “What are your terms, Prongs?” He mused, clearly interested in what James had to say. 

Remus groaned, “Let’s just end it here,” He pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears. 

James perked up a little bit, his brow furrowing as he tried to think of a proper bet, “Alright, I’ve got it,” He said, clasping his hands together and grinning devilishly, “I bet you can’t get the next person who leaves the Great Hall to go to the Winter Ball with you!” He grinned, pleased with his new idea. 

Sirius laughed, obviously this was an easy bet, “You’re on mate, shouldn’t be too hard,” He decided, his eyes darting towards the doors to look for the next person who might be fortunate enough for him to ask them to the Ball. 

“What if it’s a bloke?” Peter asked, his eyes going wide at the thought, while James cracked a smile at the suggestion. 

Sirius scoffed, turning harshly towards Peter, “It’s not going to be a bloke!” He argued. 

“Prongs didn’t say that it couldn’t be a bloke, he said the next person,” Remus corrected, his eyes still trained on the doorway throughout their newest argument. 

James seemed to think this was incredibly amusing, “And you’d have to get him to say yes Padfoot, or else I will be free from having to write your essay!” He laughed. 

Sirius turned, slack jawed to James, “No way, mate, if a bloke is the next person to leave I’ll  _ lose _ ,” He frowned. 

James seemed to think this was the icing on the cake to this whole conversation, “Padfoot  _ giving up _ on a bet? Unheard of! As a Marauder, you should be willing to do whatever it takes-!” James started to ramble dramatically. 

Thankfully, Remus was there to cut him off, “Luckily, it’s not a bloke,” He spoke up, finally tearing his gaze away from the doors. 

Sirius shot up, trying to catch the view of whoever just left the Great Hall without him noticing, “What?” He demanded, “Who was it?” He thought he caught a glimpse of blond hair, could it be Lynda Marsillion, he always did think she had a fantastic arse. 

Remus started to gather his belongings, they had Charms soon, and he wasn’t planning on being late, no matter what his friends were up to, “I believe it was Anna Hart, the Ravenclaw prefect,” He explained, pulling his messenger bag over his shoulder. 

James slapped Sirius on the back, “Not bad, Padfoot, at least she wasn’t a Slytherin,” He agreed, “She’s pretty fit.” He commented, offhandedly. 

Sirius tried to think of what Anna Hart looked like. He knew her, of course, but she was never on his radar, because Sirius Black didn’t chase after girls, girls chased after him, and if she wasn’t chasing after him, she wasn’t worth it… Unless his Potions essay was on the line, that was a different story. 

“She’s got the brown hair, right?” He asked, running a hand through his own hair. 

Remus sighed, “She’s in charms with us, come on, you can ask her then,” He explained. 

Sirius pulled at his tie, loosening it further, “Right then, Prongs, get ready to do this Potions Essay  _ and _ polish my broom, once I win this bet!” He grinned, strutting straight out of the Great Hall, James’ cries of disagreement following after him.

* * *

Anna absolutely loved charms, it was easily her favorite subject to take at Hogwarts, and since her OWLs was a reflection of that, she was happy to move onto the NEWTs. They had charms with the sixth year Gryffindors, but she was able to sit with her fellow Ravenclaws, squished between Willow, and Callum Creighton, who she may have slightly fancied since fourth year, but  _ that _ was besides the point. 

As soon as he took his seat next to her at the long tables, she felt Willow nudging at her side, and Anna quickly hissed at her to shut up, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to herself. 

The class went by quickly, Flitwick was a very talented professor, and soon enough the majority of them had properly learned the Bubble Head Charm, a very amusing lesson. She couldn’t help but laugh when next to her, Callum nudged her in the side and made a fish face when he had successfully performed the charm. 

When class ended, Flitwick had assigned them an essay on the uses of the Bubble Head Charm throughout history that was supposed to be twenty inches long, which quickly became complaint worthy to the classroom. 

“I didn’t even know you could write an essay five inches long about the Bubble Head Charm,” Anna muttered for Willow to hear. 

Willow let out a silent huff of laughter, but it was Callum who decided to respond as they started to pack up their belongings, “Knowing Flitwick, he could say plenty,” He muttered back, throwing his quills into his bag. 

Anna immediately turned towards Callum as she stood up, a small smile on her face, “Oh yeah,” She agreed, forcing herself to not blush, “I’m sure he’s been able to write even longer essays.” 

Callum grinned, “Do you think you’re going to work on this at the library soon?” He asked. 

Anna felt her eyes widen, but she immediately pushed down the slightly crazy side of her and smiled back at him, “Probably, I normally go with Willow-” Before she could even finish her sentence there was an unwanted presence busting into her conversation. 

“Hart!” Anna and Callum turned to see Sirius Black approaching the two of them, running a hand through his hair as he made his way right up to her side. 

Anna frowned, confused as to why he was talking to her, they’d never had a conversation before, and it was really poor timing, since she was actually talking to Callum, “Black,” She greeted, hesitantly. 

Sirius turned to Callum, clasping a hand down on his shoulder, “Mind if we have a moment, mate?” He asked, keeping Anna pinned in place with his gaze. 

“Uh, sure,” Callum agreed, shooting Anna a hesitant look, “See you around, Anna,” He waved, pushing his way around Sirius to leave the Charms classroom that was slowly becoming more and more empty. 

Anna almost made way to follow after Callum, they were finally having a conversation as just the two of them, and Sirius Black had to get in the way of that! She was cut off when Black stepped into the place where Callum had just been standing. 

Anna’s eyes followed after Callum, a part of her still wanting to run after him, but Sirius had already cornered her, and she had a feeling she wasn’t getting out of here until he said what he needed to say, “Can I help you with something?” She asked, not liking how she had to look up at him. 

Sirius flashed her a charming grin, ignoring the frown on her face and settling his hand down on the chair behind her, so he could lean further into her, “Luckily for you, I’m looking for a date to the Winter Ball, and from what I’ve heard, I think you would be the perfect dance partner,” He drawled, tapping his fingers on the chair as he spoke. 

Anna sputtered, out of all things that he could’ve had to say to her, this was the last thing she would’ve  _ ever _ expected! She floundered, opening and closing her mouth a few times, not quite knowing what to say to him. How could he walk up here, expecting her to just agree to go to the Ball with him, without ever having spoken to him before! Maybe this was something he was used to… but if it was, she hated it. 

“Um,” She hesitated, her eyes darting towards the door. 

Black seemed to thrive in her speechlessness, “Great, so it’s settled then!” He exclaimed, his gaze darting over towards his friends, who she quickly noticed were not so subtly hanging around to watch. 

At the sight of his friends, she knew that this wasn’t going to end well for her. This was most likely some horribly cruel prank that she didn’t to stick around and see the end of, she was smarter than that. 

As he continued to ramble on, she held her hand up, finally getting a word in, “No thanks,” She said, icily, turning around to pick up her books off her desk, using them as a buffer as she held them up to her chest. 

Sirius balked, and she would’ve found it amusing if it were any other situation, “What?” He demanded. 

Anna quickly slipped around him, getting herself closer to the doors, where she was sure Willow and Moria were waiting for her, “I’m not interested,” She said, curtly, turning on her heel before he could say anything else and marching straight out the door. 

As soon as she got her distance from Sirius Black, her mind went haywire. She considered herself to be pretty sharp in confusing times, but whatever that was threw her for a loop! Sirius Black had no business asking her to the Winter Ball, she wasn’t even sure if she was  _ going _ ! Besides, the two of them had never even spoken, and to just assume that she was going to say yes without having ever spoken to him, it was absurd! 

“Anna!” Moria squeaked as soon as she left the classroom. 

Her friends pulled her by each arm until they were down a quieter hallway, “You were talking to Callum!” Moria continued, clearly excited for her friend, “What was he saying?” She demanded. 

Anna rolled her eyes, but a blush came to her face regardless, “We were just talking about the essay, I think he was going to ask me to study with him,” She confessed, “Until Black cut in-” 

Immediately, she cringed at the noise that her two friends started to make at the mention of Black’s name, the two of them talking over each other as they tried to figure out what he wanted from her. 

“Calm down, let’s just get back to our dorm, right?” She begged, noticing how her friends seemed to pick up the pace once they said that. 

Back in their blue clad common room, they didn’t even wait until they were back up in their actual room, instead choosing to push Anna down onto the common room couch, sitting on either side of her, “Okay, let’s hear it,” Willow demanded, getting straight to the point. 

Anna rolled her eyes, “It was nothing really, he just came up to me,  _ strut _ \- more like it, and asked me if I wanted to go to the Winter Ball with him,” She shrugged. 

It was a bigger deal to her two friends than it was to her, “And you said yes?” Moria grinned, happily. 

She frowned, turning to look at both of her friend’s awestruck faces briefly. She understood why Moria was excited, it was no secret she thought Sirius Black was fit, but Willow normally didn’t have much to say about the Gryffindors, she wasn’t one for relationships, not since Anna had known her, but right now her jaw was dropped, looking just as struck as Moria with this information.

Anna scoffed, “I said no, of course,” She responded, leaning back into the couch. 

Moria was up in arms about this, “What?! How could you say no?” She demanded. 

All Anna could do was shrug, there wasn’t much to it, “I don’t like him, I think he’s arrogant, and too many girls like him for his own good,” She decided. 

“I wonder why he asked  _ you _ ,” Moria mused, realizing what she said as soon as she said it, “I mean, no offense but you’ve never even spoken to the guy, it’s weird that he’d just walk up to you and ask-” She rambled. 

Anna laughed, “I get it, it’s fine, and besides, his friends were hanging around, it was probably just a dumb prank,” She shrugged. 

Willow snickered, “He probably needed you to knock his ego down a few pegs,” She teased. 

Anna cracked a smile too, hoping that she had actually been able to do that, it would’ve been the best thing that could come out of talking to him. After all, turning down Sirius Black was something she was sure most people couldn’t say they’ve done…

* * *

On the other side of the castle, a group of Gryffindor boys were still laughing at their confused friend, who was huffing once they made their way back up to their tower, “It just doesn’t make sense,” He groaned, much to the amusement of his three friends. 

“Oh yes, it’s impossible for a girl to not fall for your charms,” Remus countered with a swift chuckle. 

“Exactly!” Sirius agreed, falling back down against the couch, his friends following suit, “It doesn’t make sense,” He repeated. 

James fell down next to him, slinging an arm around his shoulders, “At least I don’t have to write your essay now, Pads,” He grinned, pleased with how this deal went down. 

Sirius quickly James’ arm off of him, “That doesn’t matter,” He muttered, furrowing his brow, “Why would she say no?” He asked, “She’s not dating that Creighton bloke, is she?” Sirius asked, perking up at the hope of an explanation. 

James shook his head, “Don’t think so, mate, pretty sure he was dating Miller,” He explained. 

“The Hufflepuff?” Remus asked, a frown on his face. 

Peter perked up, “I thought they broke up?” 

Sirius sat up straighter at that, “Then maybe they are together, that would only make sense!” He decided, “Oy, Prongs, you have the map?” He demanded. James was quick to pass their map into Sirius’ awaiting hands, watching as he muttered the words to reveal it’s charm, and then the three of them watched Sirius hunt down the girl’s name, “She’s not with Creighton now,” He muttered to himself. 

Remus couldn’t help but frown at Sirius, “Padfoot, do you think there’s a chance that she just might not be into you?” Remus sighed. 

Sirius could only scoff at that, “That’s not it, she’s got to be dating someone, or maybe she likes Creighton,” He mused, talking mainly to himself at this point. 

Remus couldn’t help but shake his head in disagreement, Sirius would be over this in a day, just like he was with all the girls he ever spent time with, his ego was just bruised and he’d have to get over himself. 

Thankfully, James was on the same page as Remus, which was rare, “Maybe you should give it a rest, Pads,” James offered, “We’re even on the bet, let’s just end it there.” He decided. 

The look that Sirius shot James told them all that he wasn’t just going to give up that easy, and Sirius Black was nothing if not determined, “Not a chance, my dear Prongs,” He said, suddenly grinning triumphantly, “And you know why?” He prompted, taking a second to look at each one of his friends as he waited for an answer. 

James raised an eyebrow, amused as to what his friend could’ve come up with, “Why?” He played along, clearly interested in what his friend had to say. 

“Because, I’m going to get to the bottom of this, and by the time I’m done, she’s going to be  _ begging _ me to take her to the ball,” He grinned, stuffing the map into his bag as he got to his feet, “And I might have a change in heart,” He finished, looking positively mischievous. 

“Sirius-” Remus warned, sounding tired of his friend’s antics, and not wanting Sirius to break some poor girls’ heart… If Remus hadn’t seen Hart leave the Great Hall she wouldn’t even be in this mess. 

“Gentlemen!” Sirius cried, silencing Remus without another word, “The next time you see me, I’ll have a date, and Prongs will have an essay to write,” And with three long strides, Sirius had left the common room, leaving his friends to wonder what on  _ Earth _ he was planning. 


	2. Chapter 2

For Anna, the strange incident with Sirius Black was the least of her worries… Until he came back. 

The very next day at breakfast, she was surprised to see the group of Gryffindors without their long haired counterpart, he didn’t show up for the entire meal! She didn’t bother dwelling on the thought for too long though, in fact, after she initially noticed it, she barely thought anything of it. 

Even though that had been the farthest thing from her mind, It wasn’t until she was on her way to Herbology that she finally figured out where Sirius Black had been. 

Willow and Moria decided not to continue with Herbology, but it had always been a favorite of Anna’s, so as she made her way to leave the castle to make her way to the grounds, she was shocked to find herself being grabbed by the wrist and swiftly pulled into a dark hidden corridor. She didn’t even bother thinking about where on Earth she was dragged to, instead she pulled out her wand, and shoved it into her attacker’s side. 

A hand went to her wrist pushing her wand away, and before she could mutter a hex, her attacker was speaking, “There’s no need for that, love,” Instantly, Anna backed away, recognizing Sirius Black’s teasing voice. 

She was shocked, and a part of her hoped that she had mistaken his very recognizable voice in the dark, but of course she was right, “Black, what are you doing?” She hissed, muttering _lumos_ so she could get a better view in the dark corridor, “And where are we?” 

Sirius shrugged, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his robe as he did so, “I’ve been thinking,” He began, taking a step closer to Anna so she was forced to back up against the wall, “About the Winter Ball, figured you didn’t want to accept before in front of so many people, especially not Creighton,” He explained. 

She was just as confused as she was before, but _much_ less amused this time around, “You’re insane, and I’m going to be late to class,” She said, moving to push past him, but just as she was about to, her grabbed her by the shoulders and spun the two of them around so they were against the opposite wall now. 

“You’re just going to leave?” He demanded, looking shocked. 

She had no clue why he was being so persistent about this, but she was certainly getting tired of it as she shoved him away from her, “Yes, I already said no I’m not going to the Ball with you,” She repeated, not knowing what else to do. 

Sirius furrowed his brow, not moving out of the way so she could slip out of the corridor, so she sighed, pushing her hair back and hoping she could get out of this situation as quickly as possible, “Look, I’m just not interested. I don’t like you, Black, I never have. I’m sure you could find another girl who would be willing to throw herself at you for a chance to go to this stupid ball with you, but it’s not me,” She explained, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got Herbology.” 

Sirius seemed to be so stunned that she was able to slip past him with ease this time, huffing as she picked up the pace to make it to class on time. 

As she booked it down to the grounds, her mind was racing, not just from the fact she was practically assaulted when he pulled her into the small room, but from how confident he seemed. She’d never been happier that he hadn’t decided to move forward with Herbology, it would’ve been horrible if he followed after her all the way to class, who knows what else he was planning on doing. 

Quickly, she slipped inside the greenhouses, and took her seat. But she was much too distracted to even pay attention. Her thoughts kept going back to Sirius and his arrogance. It was infuriating. How could he think she was just going to agree when the two of them had never spoken more than a word to each other? And now he’d cornered her more than once to try and get her to go to some ball with him? 

Maybe one of his friends slipped him some amortentia, that would certainly explain it. Or even worse, she could be the victim of one of their horrible pranks. She shuddered at the thought. 

She didn’t even realize that she’d made it all the way through class and back to the Ravenclaw common room until her two friends were cornering her on the common room couch once more. 

“Are you listening to us, Anna?” Moria asked, nudging the brunette in the ribs. 

Anna gave an uninspired groan in response. 

“Are you alright?” Willow asked, flashing her a concerned look. 

Taking a deep breath, Anna decided this wasn’t something she wanted to hide from them, they were sure to find out eventually, “Black cornered me again,” She mumbled, pulling at the hem of her shirt. 

Immediately, the two girls freaked out, for a good reason too, if this was happening to either of her friends, she would be just as thrilled to tease them, but this definitely wasn’t the case _now_. 

“Shut up,” Anna groaned. 

“You have to tell us what happened!” Moria demanded. 

After retelling the whole tale of why she was almost late to Herbology, her two friends were positively gushing. 

“I can’t believe you said no, _again_!” Willow exclaimed. 

Anna rolled her eyes, “What was I supposed to do? Agree and thank him for the opportunity to go to the Ball with him?” She scoffed, “No way.” 

“Hopefully he’s taken the hint now that you’ve turned him down twice,” Moria shrugged, “Maybe Black will turn his sights to another Ravenclaw,” She said, flashing the other two girls a grin. 

Anna couldn’t help but to laugh at that, “If you want him, you can have him!” She grinned back. 

After her two friends teased her a little bit longer about the encounter, Anna was happy that they decided to change topic once again from Sirius. This was the most she’d ever had to say about the boy, other than groaning at him during class or muttering her annoyances at him in the Great Hall. She just wanted to figure out _why_ he was being so persistent. It just didn't make sense. But she could only hope that two times was enough for him, and he would leave her alone. 

* * *

Sirius hadn’t bothered to tell his friends about his plan that morning. 

Before cornering Hart in one of his frequently used hidden corridors, he was positive that she would agree to go with him, since he wasn’t asking her in front of a full classroom of people, he had assumed she was just shy. 

Slinking almost dejectedly- but decidedly _not_ dejectedly, mind you- from the hidden corridor, Sirius hadn’t even realized he had made it all the way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom, until he was taking his seat next to Moony. 

“Alright there Padfoot?” Remus asked, an almost worried look on his face. 

Sirius immediately snapped out of his stupor, turning his dark eyes up to look at Remus, “Of course,” He said, almost dumbly. 

It didn’t take long for James to start hissing his name from behind him, catching his attention, “Why’d you miss breakfast today?” He demanded. 

Sirius only shrugged, not necessarily wanting to recount his tale of rejection for the second time, it was just humiliating, “Wasn’t hungry,” He muttered back, clearing his throat, “... Ended up at the library,” He lied. 

A glance out of the corner of his eye showed him that Remus looked absolutely shocked, but before any of his friends had the chance to interrogate him any further, Professor Hopkins was talking over the class, starting his newest lesson. 

The silence between the Marauders didn’t last long enough for Sirius to further figure out his lie, James was sliding him a note that Peter and James had managed to piece together during the first five minutes of class. Sirius scoffed, crumpling up the sloppy note before he even had the chance to read it, and shooting a dark look back at the table behind him. 

This didn’t stop after Defense Against the Dark Arts, either. If Sirius had ever missed breakfast before, he hadn’t been harassed about his whereabouts so intensely until now. Lunch was just as unbearable for him, and he only barely managed to fend his friends off until they were on their way to potions, leaving him with no clue how he was going to survive the rest of the day with this harassment. 

Down in the dungeons, Sirius was once again forced to sit through the torture that his friends were putting him through at the moment, and for the first time in his life, Sirius hoped that Slughorn would start class sooner rather than later. 

“What’s so hard to believe about me being in the library?” He hissed to James, who kept nudging him in the side as he tried to swat him away. 

James collapsed dramatically in his chair, “Everything about it is hard to believe Padfoot,” He groaned, “Tell me you were at least meeting a girl in there? That’s the only thing that would make sense,” He demanded, sitting up straight again. 

Peter was still turned around in his seat in front of them to talk to the two of them, while Remus was shuffling through his books, “He’s right Padfoot,” He remarked, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at the library to actually do work!” Peter remarked, looking almost offended by the idea. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius spotted Anna entering the classroom, with her dark haired friend by her side, the two of them sitting down towards the self-proclaimed Ravenclaw side of the classroom. 

The idea hit him instantly, “Well I’ll have you know that I was… finishing my essay, figured I would write a better one than Prongs ever could,” He quickly lied. 

James' jaw nearly dropped, and even Remus turned around to look back skeptically at Sirius, a brow raised in suspicion, “So you’re giving up on our bet?” He grinned. 

Remus let out a little laugh of his own, “Thank God for that, I was starting to feel bad for Hart,” He confessed, looking at the sitting on the other side of them. 

Just then, Slughorn entered the classroom, silencing even the Marauders with a grand wave of his hand as he began to teach, inviting them to gather their ingredients for their newest potion. 

Surprisingly, Sirius was one of the first ones to his feet, eager to get to work to escape his friend’s interrogation, since he still didn't know where he was going with his lie, “I’ll get them,” He insisted, not even turning back to see the look on James’ face before heading off towards the ingredient cabinet. 

His goal was to take as much time as possible gathering the few ingredients he needed, and watched as several other students came and went, while he still hid out in the closet, pretending to search for some Fluxweed. 

“Hey would you mind grabbing- Oh,” 

Sirius spun around to see Hart standing behind him, the door to the cabinet swinging shut behind her as she realized who she had just walked in on. 

Immediately, a grin came to Sirius’ face, “Hart,” He greeted, “Come to accept an offer?” 

He watched as a light blush spread across her cheeks, her hair falling in front of her face ever so slightly as she tried to hide it from him.

Anna furrowed her brow at him, wanting to dart from the room, but not wanting to give him the satisfaction in the process, “In your dreams, Black, now if you’ll excuse me-” She muttered, pushing past him to gather her ingredients. 

As they both knew by now though, Sirius wasn’t so easily deterred. He leaned back against the shelf behind him and watched her for a moment as she struggled to reach the top shelf. He hadn’t realized she was so short until now. 

An idea came to him all at once. 

If Hart wasn’t so willing to accept his invite to the ball now, maybe he could still win her over. He had the next two months to get her on his side. This was beyond his bet with James now, this was to prove this to _himself_. And if Sirius knew anything, he knew he could get any girl if he turned up the charm, and he was going to prove Hart was no exception. 

Without putting any further thought into it, Sirius snuck up behind her, reaching easily over her head to grab the peacock feather she was stretching for. His chest brushed against her shoulder as she stopped trying to reach for the feather, realizing what exactly was happening behind her. 

Anna spun around to stare at him with wide eyes, “What are you doing-” She hissed, backing up into the shelves when Sirius held up the feather to her face. 

“Thought you could use a hand there, Hart,” He grinned, urging her to take the feather. 

She reached up and plucked the feather from his hand, “Uh, thank you,” She decided on, wanting to get out of here as quickly as possible. 

Sirius knew of course that this was all to prove something to himself, but in that moment something came over him and for some reason he didn’t want to move away from her. A strong scent of vanilla wafted from all around her, and she was staring up at him with wide green eyes, it was an almost hypnotic sight. 

“What are you doing?” Anna hissed, clutching the feather to her chest like it was going to protect her from him. 

He opened his mouth to speak again, not really sure what he was going to say to her, but before he even had the chance, the door to the ingredient cabinet was being flung open, and two Ravenclaw students were joining the odd duo in the small room. 

It was almost amusing to Sirius how quickly Anna jumped away from him, like she was caught snogging him by McGonagall. He was completely ignoring the two other Ravenclaws as he watched her scamper around the cabinet, gathering the rest of her ingredients, having to stretch a little bit every once in a while without him to help her anymore. 

He grabbed the last of his knotgrass when he realized she was ready to slip from the cabinet as well, and stepped in front of her before she could get to the door, holding it open for her, “After you Hart,” He offered. 

She flushed once more, but her desire to get away from him was clearly more important than her firing a quip back at him, and she slipped back over towards her table before he could say anything else. 

Sirius was quick to follow after her, but instead heading back to his own table with James, who was flipping almost boredly through their potions book, “Right, so we start with the cat hair,” James muttered, as the two of them started to brew the potion. 

He couldn’t say he was paying attention to the potion, his mind kept going back to Hart, and his new plan to win her over, and prove his point to the Marauders. 

Sirius was so focused on his new plan that he didn’t even notice himself tossing the knotgrass into the cauldron until James was shouting at him, but the grass slipped from his fingers a moment too soon. 

As soon as he turned to face James and the cauldron, he realized what he did, and before either boy could fix their problem, there was a small explosion, sending a cloud of smoke over their corner of the classroom. 

Sirius was sputtering slightly from the mistake, while James started to laugh, even though it was _their_ potion that was messed up now. The entire classroom turned towards the Marauders to see who caused the explosion this time. It was most likely assumed that Peter was the one who messed up so badly, that’s why he normally sat with Remus, so he could stop him before messing anything up too badly, or if it wasn’t an explosion of accident, the four of them were usually causing distress to their other classmates. 

But this time, seeing that it was James and Sirius, there were some snickers from a few other Gryffindors, and some unsuspecting Ravenclaws, and soon enough, Sirius was cracking a smile and laughing along with James. 

The only person who seemed to not think this was amusing was Slughorn, who came storming over with a scowl on his face. 

“Mr. Potter, Mr. Black!” He accused, looking distressed from the moderately small explosion, “What on earth is going on back here?” He demanded, looking red in the face. 

“Mistake with the ingredients, Professor,” Sirius explained, waving his hand to clear the remaining smoke that surrounded him and James. 

Slughorn narrowed his eyes at the duo, clearly thinking it was something beyond just a mistake, “Well, Mr. Black, seeing as you and your partner have been a constant distraction to my class since the beginning of term, I think it would do you both well to be separated for the rest of the year,” He decided, looking around the classroom as if he was trying to figure out where to sit the two of them. 

From across the room, Sirius caught Anna’s eye. She, along with the rest of the classroom, was staring at him, looking almost amused with his current predicament, and for the second time that day, Sirius found himself with another brilliant idea. 

Drawing more attention to himself, Sirius got to his feet, ignoring James’ protests to Slughorn’s new idea, and instead, he decided to back Slughorn up for once, “I think that’s an excellent idea, Professor,” He insisted. 

Slughorn looked almost shocked at the agreement, blinking a few times in his confusion, “Right, as I was saying-” He moved to continue. 

“I don’t think I can be trusted to sit with anyone from my house either, it would be too distracting for me, I think,” Sirius continued to explain, “Perhaps you should sit me with someone who would never even consider messing up a potion for the sake of a good prank,” He agreed, vehemently. 

He could practically see the light go off in Slughorn’s head as his eyes lit up in understanding, “I think, Mr. Black, that might just be your best bit of problem solving I’ve seen in my class so far,” Slughorn spun around to look over at the other side of the classroom. 

Sirius watched as Anna’s eyes widened when Slughorn’s gaze went directly to her, “Miss Norwood, would you mind packing up your things, you’ll be seated with Mr. Potter for the rest of the year,” He ordered, turning back around towards Sirius once he finished telling the Ravenclaw what to do, “Mr. Black, if you’ll gather your things and take Miss. Norwood’s place, you’ll be sitting with Miss. Hart for the remainder of the year, hopefully with her help, your marks will be better than ever,” He nodded, turning back towards the front of the classroom so the rest of the class could continue working on their potions. 

“What was that for, Padfoot?” James asked, while Sirius started to gather his supplies. 

Sirius flashed James a grin, very pleased with how his plan worked out, “Wanted to get to know my date to the ball a little bit better, can you blame me?” He asked, hefting his bag further over his shoulder before turning on his heel and leaving James behind, heading straight towards the Ravenclaw who was staring at him with furious green eyes. 

“She said _yes_?” James demanded, a little too loudly as Sirius left him behind. 

Sirius slung his bag over the back of the chair, and quickly took his new seat, “What an insane turn of events, right Hart?” He grinned, clasping his hands together as he pulled her textbook closer to him, “Shall we?” He asked. 

Anna seemed to be absolutely shocked by the arrival of her new partner, as she stared slack jawed at him. 

“Hart?” Sirius asked, waving his hand in front of her face. 

She immediately snapped out of her stupor, her gaze turning to Slughorn, “But Professor-” She began to argue. 

Slughorn, apparently predicting her disagreement spun around to face their table, his robes flaring out around him, “Ms. Hart, I suspect you’ll be able to handle this change, as a responsible student, yet?” He asked. 

Sirius watched as she figured out whether it would be better to continue to argue with Slughorn or leave it be, “Yes Sir,” She agreed, turning her head to the side to send a scowl towards Sirius, who countered it with an even wider grin. 

Feeling more than pleased with himself, Sirius lent back in his chair, a smirk still on his face, knowing that this was just the beginning of his brilliant plan to win himself a date to the ball. 

**Author's Note:**

> A new idea I've come up with :) Hope you all enjoy!


End file.
